Snow and big troutSteve Williamson | First Published: June 2005

Jindabyne is getting very busy and while most people are here for either work or snow play, some anglers come to the mountains because Winter is when the biggest trout and salmon are caught.

While accommodation prices rise in peak periods, there are cheaper options available for anglers, especially during the June fringe season. There are also plenty of less expensive options just outside of town and because it is not so important to get up early to fish in Winter, a little travelling time to the lake is no worry.

The rivers close to fishing on midnight on Monday, June 13, so early this month is also the last chance for anglers to fish the rivers to catch a trophy brown trout.

The lake fishing continues and with less in Winter for the fish to eat, they tend to be less selective and will often feed all day long. Trout often cruise close to the lake edges looking for anything that may be edible, making it easier for anglers to see and catch them.

A well-presented fly or bait will catch you a big one but there are also some good-sized fish to caught spinning and trolling. The record-size brown trout are caught mostly by trolling lures on those perfect sunny Winter days.

Trolling is one of my favourite ways to catch trout in Winter, when I sit back, relax and wait for the fish to bite. It might be boring for some but I cannot think of a better way to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the snow-capped mountains.

Surface trolling methods will catch fish all day during the Winter but on brighter days it is an advantage to have lead-core line to get down that little deeper.

Downriggers can also be used in early winter to great effect when there is a big weather change coming through. This can stir up the pre-spawn trout.

The better areas to try are at the creek and river mouths with Creel Bay one of the favourites. The best lures for big Winter trout are minnows about 7cm to 12cm. Other good ones to try are the Tasmanian Devils in pink No 55, orange No 57, both ‘aggression colours’ and the brown No 48. This year we also had luck with the new Tassie phosphorus pearl.

Another new lure is the Pro-Troll Trout Killer with the E Chip, which emits an electronic ‘wounded fish’ signal. Lures and attractors with this E Chip are all the rage in the US and I think as we test them a little further over coming months we will be surprised just how effective they are.

Good areas for trolling this month are Creel Bay, the Snowy Arm, Hayshed Bay and Hatchery Bay.

EARLY POLAROIDING

This is probably not the best month for lake fly fishing but if you’re keen enough, it is best to use polaroid glasses to spot the fish moving around the edges of the lake. This year we may see some early polaroiding as the level is again dropped for construction work on the new dam spillway, but the best fly fishing will not happen until late August.

A well-presented fly, something like a brown nymph, a Mrs Simpson or a shrimp pattern will get good results during the Winter months. My Williamson’s Goldfish works in quiet, weedy bays – remember what I said in an earlier report about the big fish feeding on goldfish.

Best areas for Winter polaroiding are Creel Bay, Hatchery Bay, Sid’s Bay and the Kalkite end of the lake.

Spinning from the shore works well during June and you will often see people throwing lures into the water of evening after a hard day on the ski fields. You can throw Tasmanian Devils a fair way and let them sink a little before retrieving. Colours like pink No 55, yellow wing No 36 and brown No 48 work best at a slow retrieve in areas like the Snowy Arm, Creel Bay and Wollondibby Inlet.

When bait fishing, use plenty of tiger worms or a single scrub worm off the bottom with a running sinker. Trophy brown trout also love bardi grubs..

Lemon twist and fluoro orange PowerBait has also been catching a lot of good trout while corn nuggets usually works very well over Winter. A jar of each in the tackle box is highly recommended.

Good areas to bait-fish are Creel Bay, Hatchery Bay, Taylors Bay, Curiosity Rocks and The Claypits.

For the latest fishing information, call in to Shop 1 in the Snowline Centre next to the Shell servo. We have a full range of tackle and bait, charters and fly lessons and the largest range of hire fishing tackle in the mountains.

The Fishing and 4WD show is on this month at Homebush from June 24 to 26 and you’ll find me on the Tourism Snowy Mountains stand 1804 (next door to the main stage).

Bill Presslor will be my guest speaker at my trolling clinics on October 22 and 23 and November 26 and 27. I also plan a beginner fly fishing school on November 19 and 20.